Ciao, come stai?

The other day, during one of my Italian lessons, I learned something very interesting about how politeness differs between the Italian and English language. The student in question is now studying to tackle the A2 language level exam, and as a part of this exam, you are required to be able to ask for information in formal settings, such as in a bank, employment office, etc. I've known this student for two years now, and I'm completely sure that they will pass their exam based on their language skills. But in order to build confidence, we decide to practice one of these formal settings. We choose a scenario, the employment office, we read the prompt, ready, set, go! And then something really unexpected happens, which is my favourite part of every lesson. Our conversation begins and I start with: - Buongiorno. Come posso aiutarla? The answer: - Ciao, come stai? I feel a bit weird for a moment, something was not exactly right. Then I realise what was going on and put my thoughts and emotions into words. Why in the world would you ask me, how I am, in a formal setting? Then the fog clears and another question comes. Why in the world would you not ask me? And in that precise moment I get transported back 10 years in the past, to when I was living in England. I put myself in the student's shoes and remember that I did learn (the hard way) that you are in fact supposed to ask, "how are you?" after greeting someone, and people would ask me that all the time. I definitely remember that it was a social aspect that I loved. You pause for a second, stop focusing on your day, and let yourself get distracted by someone else's. That's how I interpreted it. Even though the (expected) answer is almost always "fine", there were some occasions in which someone would genuinely answer "I'm great, thank you!", and you could see it on their faces and that would light up your day as well. In Italy this does not normally happen, unless you already know the person you are talking to. Be it in shop, an office, or bar, it's not something Italians spontaneously do, especially to people who work behind counters. After the ritual formal greetings "buongiorno/buonasera" or "salve", the request follows immediately. Which is a shame in my opinion. As Italians we have all sorts of greetings, and small talk rituals, but not this one and often people ignore that people in other parts of the world, spontaneously (or not), stop their days for a few seconds at a time, to exchange more than just one word with those who are around them. Now, since I'm really curious about these things, I started asking my friends from all over the world about this and it opened some interesting discussions. I'm interested to know if you who are reading now, were aware of this and if you have experienced this difference in your life, did something interesting happened? Let me know!